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Flipping fraud conspirator gets 5 years' probation

Published: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 2:09 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 2:09 p.m.

TAMPA - A U.S. District Court judge spent 20 minutes Tuesday discussing the reasons why Scott Schuhriemen should be sent to prison for his role in one of the biggest flipping-fraud conspiracies in Florida history.

But, in the end, Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced the former Sarasota mortgage banker to five years' probation and ordered him to pay slightly more than $300,000 in restitution to his former employer.

The sentencing was the 20th in the massive flipping-fraud case that has has roiled Southwest Florida since spring 2008, when the scheme's mastermind -- Craig Adams -- turned himself in to the FBI and began outlining his decade-long crime spree. Of those, five defendants in the case received probation and eight received a year and a day. Everyone else received 15 months or more. Adams' chief lieutenant, Rich Bobka received the harshest sentence of 15 years after spending time as a fugitive.

From 1997 to 2008, Adams and scores of associates artificially inflated the value of hundreds of houses and lied on mortgage applications to obtain millions in ill-gotten gains.

In court in Tampa on Tuesday, Schuhriemen's attorneys argued their client was "just a small fish" in the overall conspiracy and had not benefited from it economically. They also said Schuhriemen had learned his lesson and his family would be unfairly punished if he was sent to prison.

"Mr. Schuhriemen makes enough to support his family. But if he is incarcerated, he will lose his current job," said Matt Luka, one of Schuhriemen's attorneys. "They would have to move. They would no longer able to afford to rent a house."

Schuhriemen's father; his current employer at Florida 1 Realty Services; and the head of a local charity all said Schuhriemen was an honorable and hardworking man who made a mistake. The three begged the judge for mercy.

"What good would it do to incarcerate this man?" asked Barbara Lancer, a Sarasota socialite who helps to raise money for the Make A Wish Foundation.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Monk was equally adamant that Schuhriemen should spend as much as two years in prison.

Far from playing a small role in the conspiracy, Monk said, Schuhriemen helped Adams and his associates get more than $2 million in home equity loans after the housing market peaked in 2006 and 2007.

The loans came in increments of $150,000 or less, because that was Schuhriemen's loan limit at BB&T, Monk said. Anything above that amount would have to be approved by someone further up the bank's chain of command.

Monk said that, in two instances, Schuhriemen provided $150,000 loans to Adams in the names of Adams' elderly aunt and mother. The former mortgage banker also notarized the forged signatures of those two women on loan applications despite the fact that neither of them were present in the room or aware they were borrowing any money.

When it came time for Schuhriemen to help with the FBI's investigation, Monk said the former mortgage banker refused to talk.

"There was plenty of opportunity to testify against other co-conspirators, including Rich Bobka, but he didn't," Monk said, referring to Adams' chief lieutenant in the conspiracy.

"In September 2012, they got him to come and he met with Assistant U.S. Attorney Cherie Krigsman and FBI agent Leo Martinez. At that time, he expressed no remorse other than to cry about the possibility of incarceration," the prosecutor said.

As the hearing progressed, it seemed as if Merryday had been convinced by the government's arguments.

He overruled motions made by Schuhriemen's attorneys to reduce the sentencing guidelines. The judge talked at length about how people with strong families and all the advantages in life could be considered more culpable of crimes than those who come from nothing and have nothing to fall back on.

"You know what you did," Merryday said to Schuhriemen. "You made a calculation of some sort and decided to take that risk. Your moral compass got out of whack.

"Your determination not to do something because it was wrong gave way to other considerations like success or career advantage," the judge said. "But that doesn't distinguish you from a lot of other people who did the same things."

<p><em>TAMPA</em> - A U.S. District Court judge spent 20 minutes Tuesday discussing the reasons why Scott Schuhriemen should be sent to prison for his role in one of the biggest flipping-fraud conspiracies in Florida history.</p><p>But, in the end, Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced the former Sarasota mortgage banker to five years' probation and ordered him to pay slightly more than $300,000 in restitution to his former employer.</p><p>The sentencing was the 20th in the massive flipping-fraud case that has has roiled Southwest Florida since spring 2008, when the scheme's mastermind -- Craig Adams -- turned himself in to the FBI and began outlining his decade-long crime spree. Of those, five defendants in the case received probation and eight received a year and a day. Everyone else received 15 months or more. Adams' chief lieutenant, Rich Bobka received the harshest sentence of 15 years after spending time as a fugitive.</p><p>From 1997 to 2008, Adams and scores of associates artificially inflated the value of hundreds of houses and lied on mortgage applications to obtain millions in ill-gotten gains.</p><p>In court in Tampa on Tuesday, Schuhriemen's attorneys argued their client was "just a small fish" in the overall conspiracy and had not benefited from it economically. They also said Schuhriemen had learned his lesson and his family would be unfairly punished if he was sent to prison.</p><p>"Mr. Schuhriemen makes enough to support his family. But if he is incarcerated, he will lose his current job," said Matt Luka, one of Schuhriemen's attorneys. "They would have to move. They would no longer able to afford to rent a house."</p><p>Schuhriemen's father; his current employer at Florida 1 Realty Services; and the head of a local charity all said Schuhriemen was an honorable and hardworking man who made a mistake. The three begged the judge for mercy.</p><p>"What good would it do to incarcerate this man?" asked Barbara Lancer, a Sarasota socialite who helps to raise money for the Make A Wish Foundation.</p><p>But Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Monk was equally adamant that Schuhriemen should spend as much as two years in prison.</p><p>Far from playing a small role in the conspiracy, Monk said, Schuhriemen helped Adams and his associates get more than $2 million in home equity loans after the housing market peaked in 2006 and 2007.</p><p>The loans came in increments of $150,000 or less, because that was Schuhriemen's loan limit at BB&T, Monk said. Anything above that amount would have to be approved by someone further up the bank's chain of command.</p><p>Monk said that, in two instances, Schuhriemen provided $150,000 loans to Adams in the names of Adams' elderly aunt and mother. The former mortgage banker also notarized the forged signatures of those two women on loan applications despite the fact that neither of them were present in the room or aware they were borrowing any money.</p><p>When it came time for Schuhriemen to help with the FBI's investigation, Monk said the former mortgage banker refused to talk.</p><p>"There was plenty of opportunity to testify against other co-conspirators, including Rich Bobka, but he didn't," Monk said, referring to Adams' chief lieutenant in the conspiracy.</p><p>"In September 2012, they got him to come and he met with Assistant U.S. Attorney Cherie Krigsman and FBI agent Leo Martinez. At that time, he expressed no remorse other than to cry about the possibility of incarceration," the prosecutor said.</p><p>As the hearing progressed, it seemed as if Merryday had been convinced by the government's arguments.</p><p>He overruled motions made by Schuhriemen's attorneys to reduce the sentencing guidelines. The judge talked at length about how people with strong families and all the advantages in life could be considered more culpable of crimes than those who come from nothing and have nothing to fall back on.</p><p>"You know what you did," Merryday said to Schuhriemen. "You made a calculation of some sort and decided to take that risk. Your moral compass got out of whack.</p><p>"Your determination not to do something because it was wrong gave way to other considerations like success or career advantage," the judge said. "But that doesn't distinguish you from a lot of other people who did the same things."</p>